SAL MINELLA
Muppets Tonight (1996)
Originally performed by: Brian Henson
Sal is the loud-mouthed and hot-tempered bodyguard of Johnny Fiama, who first appeared on Muppets Tonight before making his way to other productions like Muppets From Space and The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz. Sal seems to think his primary purpose is to try to keep all of the attention on Johnny.
“Of the pair, I think Sal showed up in the Muppets, but Johnny did not. It’s a shame not to have them together, but Sal is still amusing by himself.”-MC
Mike Boon joins us every day this month with speculation of a future Muppet Series vinylmation. For past posts click here. You can also check Mike out at his own blog: baboondesign.blogspot.com
The Hong Kong Facebook page has release pictures of some New Year 2012 Vinylmation that were released on December 1 at Hong Kong Disneyland.
The page said they will retail for $95 HKD and $110 HKD. That converts to about $12.23 USD and $14.16 USD. No differentiation between them as to which are more, but I would assume the 2 with the added Mickey Ear Hat would cost the extra two dollars. I personally like the black design with all the characters and I don’t like the Mickey Ear Hat topper. But I do wonder if they pull off to reveal any design underneath? Will you ring in the new year with some Hong Kong 2012s?
JOHNNY FIAMA
Muppets Tonight (1996)
Originally performed by: Bill Barretta
Johnny was the resident crooner on Muppets Tonight, a lounge singer in the vein of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and his idol Tony Bennett (with whom he once shared a duet). He later appeared in It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz.
“I really liked his version of Stuck in the Middle with You. Perfectly captured in this figure.”-MC
Mike Boon joins us every day this month with speculation of a future Muppet Series vinylmation. For past posts click here. You can also check Mike out at his own blog: baboondesign.blogspot.com
DR. BOB (ROWLF)
The Muppet Show (1976)
Originally performed by: Jim Henson
Rowlf the Dog played Dr. Bob in the “Veterinarian’s Hospital” sketches from The Muppet Show alongside Nurse Janice and Nurse Piggy. A master at horrible puns and vaudeville-style jokes, Dr. Bob was often described as “a quack who has gone to the dogs.”
“I loved this sketch and was disappointed when I didn’t see it in the movie. Great looking figure, and there could always be a set with the two nurses. Or maybe even a LE set with the nurses, Bob, and a patient.”-MC
Mike Boon joins us every day this month with speculation of a future Muppet Series vinylmation. For past posts click here. You can also check Mike out at his own blog: baboondesign.blogspot.com
For our Mystery Mailbag questions yesterday, we got this interesting photo from our reader Caitlin. She asked, “Hey guys! I had a quick question for you. I was recently in WDW and my brother and I both bought one Park Starz from the same tray. We both got ice gators (wah waah). It wasn’t until much later that I noticed that one of the gator’s hats was missing a stripe. I was just wondering what your take was on it and if there is any extra value in it or if it was just an error. Thanks for your help!”
Well Caitlin, although we were told that there are Variants for Park Starz coming out next year, they were supposed to be in separate packs (not part of the cases). Also, by looking at this more closely, it seems, like you said, to just be missing a stripe. We think it’s just an error, but probably not one that would raise the price any. (Unless, like we mentioned on the podcast, you found a person who really liked collecting those type of things.) For now you just have an interesting figure that is probably one of a kind.
Thanks for the question! Has anyone else seen a printing error on their Park Starz? What do you guys think?
You know Annemarie Brown from her various speculation articles on our website including Park Starz and Furry Friends, but did you know she is an exceptional custom Vinylmation artist? We recently talked with Annemarie about a couple of her creations.
Destination Vinylmation: How long have you been creating custom Vinylmation?
Annemarie: I began fairly recently, I made Roger Rabbit this summer and he was my first.
DV: In that short time, how many have you done?
AM: I’ve done about six, and I’m currently working on a new set.
DV: Why did you pick Roger Rabbit as your first custom?
AM: Roger Rabbit has been my favorite Disney character since I was a kid, I have an entire room in my house devoted to him. It’s actually rather impressive, if I do say so myself. So as soon as I picked up my first CYO Vinylmation I knew it would be Roger, there was never a doubt.
DV: How long did Roger take to create?
AM: Roger didn’t take me very long, maybe a couple hours. Once I got his design on the mold the painting went rather quickly.
DV: What was the most difficult part about making this character?
AM: Since it was my first one, I was kind of flying blind. Everything was a bit of an experiment. His hair and cotton tail were extra pieces I had to form and stick on, and I just used glue, which has been working fine so far. I considered sculpting the ears but I wanted to utilize the area of the vinyl as much as I could.
DV: Your Peter and the Wolf has an extraordinary amount of characters and detail packed into it, yet it doesn’t looked overcrowded. How much planing went into creating this custom?
AM: I’m extremely proud of Peter and the Wolf, he’s definitely been a labor of love. At first I considered doing a 3″ figure, but I quickly realized it was going to be impossible to include all the characters since I was hand-painting it, so I switched to a 9″ to get all the detail. First I plan everything out two-dimensionally so I can be sure everything will fit where I want it to. I knew I’d put Sasha the Bird in the ear, since he was the only flying character. Ivan the Cat and Sonia the Duck had a playful relationship in the film, so I wanted to be sure to incorporate that into their design and expressions.
With the Wolf, I considered just doing a 3″ figure to go along with Peter, but I realized the Wolf needed to be larger, and he wouldn’t have looked as menacing in the squat Vinylmation form, so I decided to paint him in full glory, sneaking up on Peter from behind.
DV: What is the most rewarding part about creating custom Vinylmation?
AM: For me, it’s being able to create characters and moments that may not ever be created. I knew the odds of getting a Peter and the Wolf Vinylmation figure were slim, and I wanted one, so I made it for myself!
Annemarie wanted to share this Youtube video featuring a turnaround of her Peter and the Wolf
DV: Do you have any tips to pass onto other custom artists?
AM: Everyone has their own method, but I would recommend designing/drawing everything out beforehand, it will save you time in the long run. But more importantly, create what you like, since you’re going to be looking at it for awhile while you’re making it. You don’t want to be stuck in the middle of making something you don’t care about.
DV: Thank you for all your work and for sharing these custom with our readers.
AM: Thank you for sharing it, and for all you guys do!
Annemarie is a contributor to Destination Vinylmation. You can follow her on Twitter @admiralakbrown and stay tuned for more spotlights on her work soon.
DOGLION
The Muppet Show (1977)
Originally performed by: Jerry Nelson
A whole slew of full-bodied monsters have been part of the Muppet family over the years, but Doglion has the honor of being the first Muppet to appear on screen in 1979’s The Muppet Movie.
“I never really knew the full sized monster, other then Sweetums. But While I watched the 2011 Muppet Movie they all really stood out. Such a cool addition to the Muppet family.”-M.C.
Mike Boon joins us every day this month with speculation of a future Muppet Series vinylmation. For past posts click here. You can also check Mike out at his own blog: baboondesign.blogspot.com
This week we talk about the upcoming release of the Disney Store exclusive Furry Friends. We also give you the latest news about Vinylmation and release dates. And, as we do every week, we answer your questions and read your comments in the Mystery Mail Bag.
Exclusive to Hong Kong Disneyland, a set of 12 open window 3″ Chinese Zodiac figures were released on November 21. They cost 120 Hong Kong Dollars per figure witch works out to about $15.40 USD. A little steeper than we have seen for a non-LE or a 3″ not packaged with a Junior.
We had the chance to see these in person at The Florida Project. It is a very colorful design collectively throughout the set. And as you can tell, the are a bit abstract for the animals they represent. Will you be importing these from Hong Kong? For more pictures and info on this set, check out Chinese Zodiac Explained.
SKEETER
Muppet Babies (1984)
Originally performed by: Howie Mandel
Scooter’s twin sister from Muppet Babies has never been seen in traditional puppet form. Here she is as an adult based on Amy Mebberson’s design from The Muppet Show Comic Book: Family Reunion (2010). I had originally envisioned Skeeter as the chaser for Series 4.
“Would have been a great chaser, perfect combination of well designed and unique super fan choice. I’d also like to see Disney try to create her glasses as an accessory. And then as an added bonus, paint the eyeballs on the accessory glasses!”-M.C.
Mike Boon joins us every day this month with speculation of a future Muppet Series vinylmation. For past posts click here. You can also check Mike out at his own blog: baboondesign.blogspot.com
